A New Method For Measuring and Analyzing Suffering. Comparing Suffering in Italian Society

In this study, we introduce an innovative methodology for fuzzy measuring multidimensional subjective suffering, based on ordinal data. We apply the methodology to data about suffering in Italy, for years 2007 and 2010. The analysis reveals the existence of different suffering levels across the Countryand between males and females. Interestingly, the temporal dynamics of subjective suffering suggests that people living in economically more developed regions worsen their self-perception, across the beginning of the economic crisis.